Take a Moment
by Eddie-Hawke
Summary: ME3. Before the final battle, Liara shares some of her memories with Shepard.  These could be those memories.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything to do with Mass Effect 3.**

**I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>"I do have one thing for you, Shepard." Liara began, and for a moment as she turned, her eyes glanced down to her feet. Such a difficult question to ask; she sought courage in the floor before turning to look to the eyes of her love. "A gift. It'll only take a moment, if-" She faltered, stumbling in her delivery, "-You want it."<p>

"What kind of gift?" Shepard asked, a curious glance within those eyes which Liara had grown to adore so fondly.

"Do you remember when I first joined my consciousness to yours? I can show you some of my own memories. Asari exchange them, sometimes. With good friends..." She stumbled again, but only for a moment. It was then where she seemed to realise that if this were the end, it was important to have her love truly understand their connection. "Or their bondmates." Her eyes close slowly, opening once more to see Shepard and the world in a new light, if only for a few minutes. She smiled, then, in the light of her dearest. "It can also be a way to say farewell." Her head dropped for then, such a sparkling image disintegrating with the harsh reality.

"Show me." Shepard replied, exchanging the words she had given as they spent time in her cabin. At first it had been Shepard who needed to show Liara the extent of her love; now it was her turn. With a smile painted clearly on her face, Liara took a step closer to Shepard, closing her eyes in contentment.

"Close your eyes." She said, as Shepard closed the distance between the two. Liara's eyes opened black, and the world around them changed to one of complete peace. It was as if they stood within the dark sky, stars hung from above and below. They looked over to the slowly approaching light; Shepard appeared in awe of such a thing. Liara reached over, holding onto Shepard's hand to get her attention. Shepard looked back to Liara, and they moved together, connecting in a kiss as her memories began to overflow their peaceful setting.

Eyes peered out from the other side of the counter, watching Benezia lean against her desk and start fiddling on the screen before her. The small hand reached slowly across the surface, fingers gently coiling around the handle of her spade; that which her mother had so harshly taken away and scolded her for just yesterday. This child holds a brash smile, disappearing from behind the counter and slipping out the door. Her lungs pumped along with her sprinting legs as she ran as fast as she could from her home, feeling unsafe from the possibility of her mother's disapproving glance and voice calling her back to that prison.

Her feet touched down on the grass within the nearby park; and she kicked off her shoes with haste. Her toes wiggled in the green, arms outstretched to allow the sunlight to tickle her skin. Her free hand scoops up her shoes, and she turns back to check that her mother was not on the war path.

"Doctor T'Soni, you're needed on the site!" She called, and giggled to herself as she ran off towards the dirt patch her mother had caught her in and dragged her away from.

"Sorry Doctor," She began, kneeling down, "I had some..." What was it she always heard her mother say over those video calls? "-Important business to attend to." Nearby, mothers walked by holding their daughter's hands. Daughter's looked to the child in the dirt, and mother's pulled their arms, refusing to allow them to stray from the constructed path.

"Not a problem, Doctor." Her voice became gruff; or as gruff as a child could get. "Last time we were here, you were so close to digging up that ancient artefact!" Her smile brightened, and just as she moved to dive back into the dirt;

"Liara!" She was derailed.

Liara flew off into the nearby green, out of sight from the fury her mother would no doubt bring her. Benezia moved, standing dressed in undeniable hues of sunlight; refusing to step another inch. Standing her ground. Liara knew that look. She pulled herself away from her hiding position, shoes on as her feet dragged across the ground. She reached her mother's side and kept walking to the house with Benezia close behind.

"I turn my back for one moment and you defy me! Did you see the way the world looked at you?" Benezia had sat her down at the counter, pacing back and forth along the floor for a moment before she stopped in front of her daughter.

"I don't mind about that, mother, you know that!" She called back abruptly, and her hands covered her mouth.

Benezia sighed. Atheyta had always told her never to hold her too tightly. It was easier to forget that sometimes.

"Little Wing." She softened suddenly, turning her back to Liara. Her hands connected gently with a book sitting on her desk. How rare it was to use such a thing anymore. "Come here." The dirt faced child complied, rounding the counter to come back to the desk.

Benezia turned, kneeling down to her child. "I have something for you." She began, reaching over to wipe the dirt from her cheek with a thumb. "Close your eyes." And she did; Liara's eyes shut tightly with anticipation. From the desk she pulled the book, hiding it behind her back. She waited, watching her child almost shake with excitement; gifts were not something she regularly obtained from her mother. "Open." Benezia said, a smile on her face as she moved to hold the book out before her. Liara opened her eyes to see the first piece of encouragement her mother would give her. Her eyes sparkled at the sight. The memory fades as the child carefully places the book to the counter, before clinging tightly to her mother's amber dress.

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><p><strong>More to come.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

It's hard sometimes, she thought, sitting along and watching the world drift by. Here, she sits alone on a bench designer for two, her face as buried as one can be in a datapad. Her mother had only recently given her a few notes on the history of Thessia. When her mother suggested that they make a trip into the city to visit the shrine to their goddess, Liara jumped at the chance. It was so clearly not fit for children, so for her mother to offer that to her. It was... astounding.

"How are your studies, Liara?" Benezia asked, approaching her daughter and resting a hand on the top of her datapad. Liara looked up, her eyes brightening at the sight of her beloved mother. She moved with such a superior elegance, even down to the way her fingers lingered along the cool steel of the datapad. Her mother was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.

"Good. Amazing, actually." She finally replied, an excited smile along her lips. "The Asari have just started to further surpass other council races, particularly in infrastructure and military strength."

"Why do you think that is?" Benezia asked, lifting the pad from her daughter's hand and turning it so she might read its contents. Her eyes glanced over a few lines, and she chuckled to herself. Liara became puzzled as to why. History was anything but humourous. She allowed the thought to fold into nothing.

"We have abilities that other races do not; the first race to master interstellar flight and claim the Citadel. And our biotics! They're so natural that we begin with a higher level of understanding of how they work." Her mother looked to her, as if encouraging her to continue. That glimpse of approval her mother gave; it was worth dying to achieve. But they thought in such a different ways. Liara wanted to know more; to learn and fill her mind with history's facts. Her mother wanted her to think; to speculate and plan or plot answers with no basis in fact. With no guiding proof; that could come along later. "I..." She began, her voice wavering, "-I suspect that despite our advancement, there are many reasons why one might not consider us a threat." Liara hypothesised.

"Brilliant." Benexia said, handing it back to her. "There'll be a diplomat of you yet."

"Not yet, I hope." She scoffed, placing the datapad in her bag. She turned her eyes away to avoid the disapproving gaze her mother would place on her. The skyline of Thessia seemed like an expertly planned painting; hues of pink, purple and yellow entwining along the landscape of curving high rise buildings. These buildings, all chrome and silver with thickened glass, allowed the colours of this wondrous world to glide across its surfaces, displaying a mirror image of the world before one's eyes. Liara could lose herself in the image, were it not for her mother's voice calling her away.

"Liara, come." She called, and Liara joined her, reaching over to take hold of her hand for guidance. Her mother accepted the gesture without thought; for a girl who spoke so far beyond her years, it was hard to envision her daughter as still being so young. "One day, my child," She began, as they walked, "You'll understand why I wish for such a future for you." Liara was unable to get away with her comment, it seemed.

"I know, mother." Came the stock response, in a monotone voice from the unimpressed child. Her mother always did this; Benezia would seem to push the order without actually pushing, as though something held her back from just forcing Liara to choose the path she wanted her to take.

They approached the temple; the closer they were, the more Liara could see of the statue of the goddess. When finally in full view, her feet just... stopped moving. Her grip on her mother's hand ceased to exist, and she lost herself in the eyes of Athame. Benezia turned back, her daughter a mix within the vibrant background. "There's more." She called, a smile piercing her forward demeanour as she held her hand out to her daughter. Liara landed back in the world, her entire existence briefly overcome with the shear power of the sight before her. The way the entire building was built to lift to the heavens, yet fall at the feet of the goddess was overwhelming. She ran to her mother, gripping onto her hand tightly so she would never lose her. Her body would not, but her mind wandered, eyes taking in every image possible as though it would be the last time she saw that place. As they moved inward, they passed Athame's sword and shield. Benezia pointed towards them lightly, "These weapons belonged to the goddess." She said, as though she were telling a children's story.

"Her actual weapons?" Liara asked, her blue eyes wide with interest.

"Yes." She replied, almost brashly, "She used them to protect our world from the jealous gods who threatened our ancestors." Benezia spoke as though this were a recital; but Liara was too enthused to care. To be within inches of something so important to her world... It was so hard to process.

"I wish I could touch them." She said openly; foolishly. Her hand clasped over her mouth straight afterwards. Her words proved only that it was so hard for her mind to comprehend these moments. Benezia chuckled lightly; too often would her daughter stumble over her own words.

They approached the statue slowly; Benezia showed Liara different artifacts, highlighting their importance with precise answers. But as they stood before the goddess, the Asari child would swear in that moment that she felt the eyes of Athame looking down from above; watching over her as if to guide her in the right direction. There were so many things about Athame that she could learn, and so much more she could discover.

"When I grow up," She began, letting go of her mother's hand in earnest as she reached over to the base of the statue, "I want this life."

The memory abruptly cuts short on the image of Liara's eyes glowing with newfound fortune.

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><p>"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shown you that." Liara said, standing before her love once more in a world of stars.<p>

"Why?" Shepard asked. Liara's intentions were so unclear; nothing within the vision was worth taking back.

"Because I was foolish and naive. I believed in things that weren't there. Thinking a goddess was looking down on me, giving me her blessing and telling me to live my own life is-" She began her tangent, eyes wandering for something other than Shepard's face to rest her gaze on. Her tone of voice shifted, tension rising as she worked herself into a frustrated mindset.

"Liara, don't worry about it-" Shepard began, but Liara refused to finish.

"-And Benezia. My mother. She was-"

"Calm down, Liara." The Commander seemed to order. "No one in this universe is perfect. I want to see more." She said, her hand touching against the Asari's cheek; the feeling begged Liara to look back. This was time they couldn't waste with such worry.

Liara seemed to know this, too, as she looked back to her love with uncertainty. "You don't think I was foolish." She stated, reviewing Shepard' perception within her eyes. But there were no words to give; Shepard only smiled at her statement. There was no need to worry; Liara took comfort in that. To throw herself into the deep end completely with these memories came with a level of caution and fear that she never thought she would feel.

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><p><strong>More to come.<strong> **And thank you for your reviews!**


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